Verizon and Apple unveil the first perk of their new partnership

It seems Verizon is taking a page out of T-Mobile’s handbook in terms of adding value to its unlimited plans.

Loading...

Verizon is entering into an exclusive, multi-step partnership with Apple. Step one is to offer a musical perk. Both new and current Verizon Unlimited customers will get 6 months of Apple Music at no extra charge.

Even better, if you’ve already taken advantage of the free three months of the streaming service that Apple offers, you’re still eligible for this deal. This means that Verizon Unlimited customers could have up to 9 months of Apple Music for free.

This offer begins Thursday, Aug. 16, and currently has no expiration date. Verizon will also unveil the redemption process on that day. I have a feeling it might involve you linking your Apple ID.

In a prepared statement, Angie Klein, vice president of marketing at Verizon, said, the offer “gives our customers exactly what they want: Apple’s best-in-class music streaming experience, paired with an unlimited plan tailored to them, on the network they deserve.”

So, what’s next?

Your guess is as good as ours, but I wouldn’t expect this to be a hardware move in the future. Apple generally likes to keep the playing field level in terms of iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch availability.

However, customers in the future could get exclusive discounts when using Apple Pay. Alternatively, Verizon and Apple could solve a pain point for unlimited customers by increasing iCloud Storage, like the 50GB upgrade free for a year.

Apple might expand this deal with other carriers, but this would likely happen after the exclusive period runs dry.

In the meantime, this is a clearly a move to drive more customers to Verizon’s Unlimited offering, which expanded to three plans that can be mixed and matched on the same account earlier this summer.

All eyes are on AT&T, T-Mobile, and Sprint for a checkmate move is coming (hmmm, maybe give away Spotify for free?).